


Hardtime100 Drabbles

by cmk418



Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-01-08 10:30:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 115
Words: 15,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1131583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmk418/pseuds/cmk418
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My drabbles for hardtime100 posted in one place.  Various and sundry characters, pairings, and situations. I will try to label each chapter appropriately.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. #64 - Dress Up - McManus/Murphy

The green football shirt is tossed at him from across the room.

“You can’t be serious,” Tim said.

“You said anything.”

“When I suggested prisoner/hack role-play, I was talking in generalities. Not about someone I’m going to see every damn day.”

“Uh-huh. And you just happened to have a kufi and prayer beads in the top drawer of your nightstand due to a sudden conversion.”

“They were confiscated items. I just haven’t returned them yet.”

Sean raised an eyebrow.

“I’m meaning to!”

“Put it on.”

“No.”

Sean put his hands on his hips. “Did it sound like I was asking for an argument?”

“You’re a lot nicer to him.”

“Because he doesn’t whine like you do.”

Tim pulled the shirt over his head. “Because he’d probably suck your cock if you asked.”

“Would he?” There was a slight smile on Sean’s face.

“Yeah,” whispered Tim.

“Would he let me fuck him?”

“Maybe. I think you might have to manhandle him a little. He’d get off on…” Tim had the wind knocked out of him as Sean slammed him up against the wall.

“No more talking.”


	2. 109 - Word of Advice - Andrew Schillinger

“Andrew, I never want you to use drugs.” 

One simple piece of advice that landed him in here in order to make sure his boys followed it. He thought of Andrew. Falling so hard, yet trying to get clean. Of course the people “helping” his son were suspect. It couldn’t be real. Something was going to happen that would fuck up both their lives. He couldn’t have it. He had to be in control. If Andrew could follow his advice, then when he got out of the hole, Vern would welcome him back with open arms. If he couldn’t, well...

 

“Andrew, I never want you to use drugs.”

Andrew shivered in the chill of the cold, damp room. He stared at the package. He knew it was a test.

It was so cold here. He hated the cold. One thing could make him forget. Just one thing.

He looked at the package again. Dad’s words echoed in his head. Always with his rules, his way of life – do this, don’t do that, don’t hang out with those people, do what I tell you. Andrew was sick of it.

And here, a way to escape. One little taste. _Fuck you, Dad._


	3. 100 - Daydream Believer - Said, Arif, McManus, Gloria

McManus knelt down beside Arif and Said. “What the hell happened?”

Said smiled, noticing McManus’ worried frown. 

“Minister Said was shot,” replied Arif.

Said rolled his eyes. These two were masters at stating the obvious. He was wounded. Was anyone going to get help?

Like an angel sent from Allah, Gloria Nathan appeared. She looked at Said’s wounded shoulder. “It’s not bad. Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

As Arif helped Said to his feet, Said smiled at a relieved McManus. McManus wanted him around, and the moment Said was healed, he would be taking full advantage of the situation.


	4. 103 - To Be Or Not To Be - Claire

This place. Jesus. It strips everything away, doesn’t it? It’s hard enough to feel like a human being, much less a woman, around here. And there’s only one way for me to get in touch with my feminine side. Sex. Inmate or hack, as long as I’m satisfied. I get such a rush out of it, that momentary loss of control. It’s the only way that the walls of this hardened bitch, that you see and take great pains to avoid every day, can come down. So, Mukada, either absolve me or give me what I need. It’s your choice.


	5. 103 - To Be Or Not To Be - Sean Murphy (implied one-sided Murphy/McManus)

You’d think after all this time, the guy would get a clue. Following from job to job, bailing him out of trouble, hauling him home after he got shot down in some bar, how much of that is friendship, really? Would he do the same for me? It’s hopeless, isn’t it? Hopeless that he’s going to wake up and see that the person who was right for him was right there all along. I’ve been with other guys. But none of them will ever know me the way Tim does. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, Father.


	6. 103 - To Be Or Not To Be - Jia Kenmin

Right now I just wanna get into it with someone on my own level. Let’s see...

Arif? Good and fit, but those Muslims are all about peace, so where’s the fun in that? He’d probably pray me into submission.

Guerra? I just took his ass down. No contest. 

Beecher? I’m sick of him and his drama. Keller-this, Keller-that. I know I’m a captive audience, but come on! One good punch won’t get those two hours back.

Ryan O’Reily. Good build. Keeps in shape. He’s in the gym all the time with that idiot brother of his. Perfect. Soon, O’Reily. Soon.


	7. 104 - Heard It Through The Grapevine - Beecher

He could hear people whispering near his bedside. Their voices came like waves, a word or two rising to the surface. He knew they were talking about him. 

“Arms and legs.”

“No signs of neurological damage”

“Tortured. Beaten.”

“I don’t know. Maybe months. It’ll depend on him.”

....”As we forgive those who trespass against us...”

“Never seen anything like it.”

“Beecher, can you tell me what...?”

“It’s amazing he survived.”

He opened his eyes. Pain hit him then, intense. Everything went white and then...

Back in the gym.

Metzger.

Schillinger.

Keller.

His arms and legs weren’t the only things broken.


	8. 105 - Scars - Donald Groves & Miguel Alvarez

Groves sat on the top bunk, his feet flopping over the edge.

“What the hell is that?” Alvarez pointed to a scar near Groves’ ankle. “Tell me you didn’t do that yourself.”

Groves smiled. “I’m not that flexible.”

“So...”

“A graduation present from my high school girlfriend.”

“You had a girlfriend?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” 

“I don’t know, man. It’s just so normal.”

“Maybe. I like her teethprints though. It’s just so personal. Lipstick comes off, hickeys fade, but I’ll always have this, something that’s totally her. Nobody else in the world has those teethprints.” 

“What’s her name?”

“I don’t remember.”


	9. 106 - If the Cliche Fits - Tim McManus/Sean Murphy

Tim McManus was drunk. The black coffee that the waitress had poured for him had failed to penetrate his scotch-induced haze.

“I like this place,” slurred Tim. “I bring all my dates here. You know my dad used to have a place like this in upstate New York. Right across the street from the prison. I used to watch everyone coming in and out of that place, the families, the lawyers, the CO’s, hell, even some parolees. I got a taste for it, to be involved in their lives, more involved than serving them coffee.”

“I know, buddy,” said Murphy. “I was right there with you.”

“Sean?”

“Yeah, Tim.”

“Why’d I tell you my date story?”


	10. 107 - OMG! WTF? - Sean Murphy/Claire Howell, Sean Murphy/Tim McManus (crackfic)

Though the night shift had just gone off the clock and the day shift was yet to go on Howell and Murphy were alone in the locker room. Claire approached him shyly. “Sean you wanted to talk to me?” she asked, a hint of shyness in her voice. Sean made her nervous, he knew all the things she did and didn’t seem to care, but that was going to end and it seemed like now. “Yeah Claire he said, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. The thing is – this thing between us Claire it’s a ten to six thing and I’m not really comfortable with that.” Sean took her hand in his and gazed into her eyes as he said, “I love being with you Claire just adore it honey bear. Just the two of us on those night shifts together got me thinking.” “What Sean what were you thinking?” Sean dropped to one knee in front of her and took her hand. “Claire Elizabeth Howell will you-“ At that point, Emerald City Unit Manager Tim McManus entered the room, saying, “Hi Sean, Hi Claire.” “Dammit Tim, said Sean, “I was just trying to propose to Claire.” Tim extended his hand showing off a gorgeous glittering diamond ring. “Sorry Claire Sean asked me earlier. I’m keeping the ring.” “Tim I was just trying it out on you.” A crash was heard the window of disbelief slamming shut. “Oh, for God’s sake, “ said Claire stepping over Murphy, “you two deserve each other. And Murphy, next time you get on your knees in front of me be prepared to stay there for a while.” Claire slams her locker closed and leaves the room. Murphy glances over at Tim still admiring the ring on his hand, “Looks like it’s just you and me Timmy-boy.” “Sean,” Tim said beaming, “I really love this ring,”


	11. 110 - One More Thing - Hank Schillinger, Andrew Schillinger, Tobias Beecher

The dark-haired boy stared at him. “Sleeping well Bitcher? Amazing you can after what you’ve done to us.” 

Andrew Schillinger appeared by the young man’s side. “Aw, come on, Hank. Toby’s not so bad. Think of how well he treated me when I first got to Oz.”

“Yeah. Maybe you should do something nice for him in return.”

“I already thought of that.” Andrew extended his left hand, towards a place that Beecher couldn’t see. “Come here, little man.”

Beecher watched Gary step forward to take Andrew’s hand.

“Don’t worry, Toby. He’ll be safe, safe as in his mother’s arms.”


	12. 111 - Don't I Know You From Somewhere? - Tim McManus, Sister Peter Marie

Tim McManus sat across from Sister Pete. His nose was bandaged and his right cheek was sporting an ugly multi-colored bruise.

“You want to tell me what that incident in the visiting room was about?”

“It was a misunderstanding.”

“From what I heard, you instigated the situation. You know this prisoner’s history, know what he’s capable of. Do you have some kind of death wish that I don’t know about? I’m not just here for the prisoners, Tim. I can help you.”

“You know, you think you’re over something, and-“

“And then what?”

“You wind up kissing Tony Soprano’s wife.”


	13. 113 - A Fresh Start - Tim McManus

He had won. He had waited it out, and now it had paid off. Things were going to change. He would restore Emerald City to the way it was supposed to be, the way he had envisioned it. All that was needed was to get rid of the bad blood. That was easy enough. Start with Adebisi and the rest would fall down like dominos. He’d let the inmates know right away that they were dealing with a new Tim McManus, that he wasn’t going to take shit from anybody. It was a new day for EmCity. He was back.


	14. 116 - Miguel Alvarez/Ryan O'Reily, various

“Whatcha got there, Alvarez? Somebody sending you love notes?” O’Reily smirked and laid his cards on the table, effectively stopping the poker game. This promised to be more interesting.

“Nah. Found it in the laundry room.” Alvarez sat down at the table, laying the homemade card in front of him.

“Read it.” Busmalis ventured.

“Maybe he shouldn’t,” Rebadow cautioned.

“Is it yours?” Hill asked.

“I haven’t been near the laundry room today.”

“Okay then. Read.”

“I’m not reading this out loud.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” said O’Reily, taking the card from him. “To My Valentine,” he intoned.

“We can all see that. Get to the good stuff,” Hill demanded.

O’Reily opened the card. His eyes widened. “Wow.”

“What’s it say?”

O’Reily slid the card across the table to Hill. 

Hill opened it. “Didn’t think they could say that in a card.”

Busmalis plucked the card from Hill’s hand. Rebadow read over his shoulder.

Busmalis’ mouth dropped open. “Maybe Hallmark should open up a new division.”

“It’s not signed,” observed Rebadow.

“So who do you think it’s for? Or from?” Busmalis asked.

“Dunno. Could be anybody,” said O’Reily, picking up the card once more. He pushed his chair back from the table. “I’m out. Gonna put this back.”

“We could always watch and see who comes back for it,” said Busmalis as O’Reily walked into the laundry room. “Deal you in, Alvarez?”

Alvarez just shook his head and left for the television area. Some time later, O’Reily sat down directly behind him and leaned close. “Nice card.”

“Like it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”


	15. 117 - First & Last (First) - Tim McManus

Tim McManus walked into his unit for the first time since construction had finished. He stood in the common area and stared up at those rows and rows of cells. Cells without bars would give the prisoners a sense of freedom. This would be a place where the prisoners would be treated with respect and they would respond in kind. He hated that Leo referred to it as “experimental”, as if it was expected to fail. McManus would prove them wrong. This unit, his unit was to be the jewel in Oz’s crown. That’s why he called it Emerald City.


	16. 117 - First & Last (Last) - Tim McManus

Of all the things he expected, this wasn’t one of them. He always thought he would be in his office with a cardboard box, filling it up with his things. He even had a box picked out, ready in the trunk of his car, since the day that Querns gave him notice. He never pictured himself evacuating the building with the men from EmCity. His mind worked in crisis mode, shutting out everything else. It wasn’t until they were on the bus that it hit him. He really should have taken one last look around when he had the chance.


	17. 118 - Truth or Dare? - Ryan O'Reily, Gloria Nathan, Shannon O'Reily

“Truth or dare?”

“I don’t want to play.”

“C’mon, Gloria. I just got out of surgery. Please. For me.”

Gloria let out a slow breath, “Okay, truth.”

“Why’d you hold my hand during surgery?”

“I thought you needed to know someone was there who cared about you.”

Ryan grinned. “So you care about me.”

“One question, that’s all I had to answer.”

“How about a dare?”

“Isn’t it your turn?”

Ryan shook his head and pulled her in for a kiss. His eyes drifted shut.

When they opened again, he saw Shannon glaring at him. “Who the fuck is Gloria?”


	18. 118 - Truth or Dare? - Tobias Beecher, Chris Keller

Every night since it happened, it would replay itself over and over again like some twisted Truth or Dare game. 

“Did you fuck with my parole?”

He’d smile that smile of his and put that hurt little boy look in his eyes, like he couldn’t believe you were asking that. Again.

He’d offer his own challenge, “I dare you to love me without knowing the answer.”

You’d counteroffer, ever the lawyer. “I dare you to live without me. Just live, Chris. And maybe... one day...”

But every night, you’d watch him fall over that railing, out of your grasp, forever. And you’d realize that there were even some dares that Chris Keller wouldn’t take.


	19. 119 - Quotes - Tim McManus, Sean Murphy

Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.

But a fifth of bourbon also helped, thought Tim, as he set his empty glass down on the coffee table, then tried to focus on a single, non-spinning image of Sean.

“Promise me something.”

Sean hesitated. “If I can.”

“You’ll never... go to London.”

Sean smiled. “Not even the one in Ontario.”

“Or leave me for a bobby.”

“In this country, they’re called cops, Tim.”

McManus was adamant. “Promise.”

“Okay.”

Tim slumped against his shoulder and whispered. “Or anyone... named... Bobby.”

Sean laughed, pushing him away slightly. “You will always be the only man in my life, you drunk asshole.”


	20. 121 - You Say Yes, I Say No - Tim McManus, Kareem Said, Governor Devlin

December was an odd month to lose one’s faith, thought Tim McManus, alternating his glance between the gates to EmCity and the local news broadcast. He watched the television, with a mixture of horror and disbelief, as Kareem Said smiled broadly and shook Devlin’s hand, saying “Thank you, Governor.” Tim hadn’t realized until that moment how much he had expected Said to toss the pardon back in Devlin’s face. Now it was over. The only other man in this place with a shred of integrity had just sold out. What the hell did that mean for the rest of them?


	21. 121 - You Say Yes, I Say No - Tim McManus, Leo Glynn

“You want EmCity back?”

Tim hesitated.

“McManus?”

“I’m thinking.”

“All the whining, all the bullshit from you over the past few months, and you’re thinking?”

“Yeah... I’m gonna have to pass.”

“What?”

“You’ve seen the tape, Leo. EmCity is a shitbin. An experiment that would have succeeded but you and Querns fucked it up.”

“If this is your way of-”

“Mind if I go back to Unit B? I’ve got a bet down on Schillinger for the weekly pool tournament.”

“Pool? What happened to education? Trying to improve the quality of these men’s lives?”

McManus indicated the VCR. “Press play.”


	22. 123 - Scene It (1 - Lottery Ticket) - Oz Staff

“You want to go in on the lottery?” asked Murphy when McManus came into the kitchen.

McManus shook his head and moved to get a cup of coffee.

“Oh, don’t tell me that the lottery violates some ‘no gambling’ code with you,” replied Claire.

“It’s not that,” said Gloria. “Tim makes an occasional bet, plays poker with the guys...”

“Every Thursday,” McManus chimed in, as if to remind them all that he was still in the room.

“So whatsa matter? It’s only a buck. You want to stay in your precious EmCity until you’re seventy?”

Tim sat down at the table, smile on his face. “If I can, yeah.”

“The reason Tim doesn’t play the lottery is because of a book,” supplied Murphy.

“A book?” Claire rolled her eyes.

“Short story, actually. Any of you ever read ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson?” McManus asked.

Sister Pete scrunched her face up. “Oh, that’s an awful story. Just awful. Every year or so the people in this little town hold a lottery. Everybody in town comes out for it. Kids, old folks, everybody. One by one each person takes a slip of paper from this box. And the one that takes the slip of paper...”

“...With a big black spot in the center...” continued Murphy.

“...Gets stoned to death,” finished McManus.

“Ugh,” replied Gloria. “If this is what you read, Tim, no wonder you’re fucked up.” Claire nodded in agreement.

“Here’s my point. Every day I come through those doors, I draw my ticket. And I wonder, is today the day that my number is really gonna come up?”


	23. 123 - Scene It (2 - Museum/Art Gallery) - Leo Glynn, Tim McManus

“No, and I mean no, McManus.”

“But, Leo, you say we should do everything within our power to rehabilitate these guys.”

“Rehabilitation should involve skills that these guys are going to use on the outside. It should not involve crayons and chalk.”

“It’s art therapy. It’s good for them. Look at this.”

Tim laid a piece of paper over Leo’s desk. It was done in red crayon of faces staring out through flames.

“What the hell is that?”

“Exactly. It is hell. Timmy Kirk’s vision of it.”

“Kirk is a nutjob.”

“Maybe. But the only way he can get his personal demons out is through art. I’d like to display this in one of the classrooms. If we do have an art class, I’d like to have an example for the students.”

“And then you’d probably want to have an art show in the cafeteria where you could show off Kirk’s devils, Vern Schillinger’s swastikas, Chris Keller’s tracings of his dick – or worse yet, Beecher’s. This is undoubtedly one of the worst ideas you have ever had, McManus.”

“So you’ll think about it?”

“Get the hell out of my office.”


	24. 123 - Scene It (3 - Library/Bookstore) - Diane & DeeDee Wittlesey

“Mom, can we go in here? I want to see if they have the new Harry Potter.”

“Sure. Why not?”

When DeeDee ran to find the book, Diane scanned the bargain tables in the nonfiction section. One of the books caught her eye. It had a cover of white, gray bars drawn across the front, with the title “OZ/ARAN” in bright red letters and the name “Kareem Said” below it. She’d seen the book about the riot, of course, back in the States when it was published.

How many miles had she traveled, how many years had passed, and still these things had a way of finding her. Memories flooded her brain – being taken hostage, the S.O.R.T. team coming in, Tim McManus being shot, Scott Ross. It always came back to Scott Ross.

She wondered if Said had painted Ross as a martyr for their cause. If Said ignored everything the man did up until the moment she...

“Mom, you ready to go?”

Diane blinked, let out a shaky breath, plastered on a well-practiced smile, then turned toward her daughter. “Yeah.” She wrapped an arm around DeeDee’s shoulders and guided her toward the door.


	25. 123 - Scene It (4 - Music) - Tim McManus

Tim McManus stood outside the gate as it opened, looking through the bars, watching as the expanse of open space in front of him grew with every passing second.

The scrape of metal against metal was something that he’d heard thousands of times in his years here. He’d learned to block it out, to make it just part of the background.

But not today...

Today was the day he reclaimed his unit. Today was the day he got EmCity back.

The screeching whine of the gate rolling open, the click when it stopped, and he could finally step inside, those sounds were music to his ears.


	26. 123 - Scene It (5 - Dance) - Tim McManus, Leo Glynn, Eleanor O'Connor

As Tim walked to Leo’s office, he ran down the list of women he could dance with tonight at the party. Sister Pete was fun, but last year she ran him ragged. Gloria was always a safe bet, but there’d been a bit of distance between them lately, and he wasn’t sure how to cross it. Howell was not an option. Definitely not an option.

Ellie would be there though. If she could stop sniping at him long enough, she’d be perfect. He remembered how well they moved together across the dance floor.

He walked into Leo’s office. “Hey, Leo, I need to ask you a couple quest-“. The rest of the word died on his lips as he stared in shock at his ex-wife and his boss.

Apparently Ellie’s dance card was full.


	27. 123 - Scene It (6 - Game) - Tim McManus/Claire Howell

The date was going well, a bit of a surprise considering that he hadn’t been the one to initiate anything. But five hours in and he had actually enjoyed himself. The woman was reasonably attractive, had a sarcastic streak to match his own, and – his favorite quality – was game for anything.

She stood at the side of his bed, buttoning up her shirt, getting ready to leave – yet another thing that he liked about her, she knew when to go.

“Maybe we can do this again sometime,” he said.

When he saw the hopeful look in Claire Howell’s eyes, Tim McManus realized he might have gone too far, but it was too late to take it back.


	28. 123 - Scene It (7 - Outside) - Ray Mukada, Miguel Alvarez

Ray had heard about it this morning. The escape. Part of him was flooded with fear for Miguel, wondering what the police would do to him, what Miguel might do to himself, if caught. 

But another part of him could see Miguel outside, soaking in the sunlight, drinking in the fresh air. Ray could call this image to mind because he’d seen it before. Once. Before they stepped back onto the bus, after his baby was born, Miguel stopped and looked up. The sunlight seemed to radiate from within him, transforming his features. Miguel had taken a deep breath, smiling, enjoying these few moments outside the walls of Oz.

Ray imagined that smile now and it put all his fears at bay.


	29. 123 - Scene It (8 - Inside) - WARNING: possible triggers-rape aftermath - Gloria Nathan

They didn’t understand why she’d come back here this late. They didn’t know that she’d gotten as far as her block, found a parking spot, and took the key out of the ignition.

Just like last night.

They weren’t there as her body started to shake when she opened the car door. They didn’t realize that she only calmed down when she closed the door and put the car back into ‘drive’. 

They only saw a woman who was beaten and raped, walking back into a facility full of convicted rapists. They didn’t see the dangers on the street. They didn’t comprehend that here, inside these walls, was the only place she felt truly safe.


	30. 123 - Scene It (9 - Sand) - Tim McManus

Though he walked along the beach under a clear blue sky, he’d trade it all for gray skies and rain. The sand between his bare toes reminded him of how quickly it all could shift. He missed them all - Beecher and Poet and Alvarez, Gloria and Ray and Sean. Hell, he’d give his left nut to see Claire Howell right now. He wondered if they’d made it back. He wondered why it should matter so much that they make it back. He wondered when the ground would stop shifting, become solid for him again. And if it did, would it ever be the same?


	31. 123 - Scene It (10 - Dirt Road) - Martin Querns

He heard the soft crunch under his tires as he drove over the section of unpaved road that separated the prison from the world at large. It was always a comforting sound, the quiet appealed to him. It had been a long time since he heard it – one of those little quirks that made Oswald special. That and, of course, Emerald City. He enjoyed his time in that unit, had made it his own. Until Leo fired him, that is.

But life, thankfully, had more twists and turns than the dirt road leading up to the gates of Oz. As he thought of one of the first orders of business on his agenda this morning, the appointment with Tim McManus, Warden Martin Querns smiled. Karma was indeed a wonderful thing.


	32. 123 - Scene It (11 - City Lights) - Sean Murphy, Tim McManus

It was quiet for a while. Sean watched the city lights twinkle in the distance. He didn’t know if this was better for Tim than the meditative maze, but it was out of the prison and Tim’s brain seemed to be going in so many circles that maybe it didn’t matter that he was no longer walking in them. First Hill, now this. And Sean suspected in some ways, that this was worse than when Diane left. Tim sighed and Sean braced himself for another circle.

“Could have prevented it,” Tim whispered. “Should have let him go.”

Sean sighed. The damned clemency thing again. “He blew up a building, instigated a riot that put your life in danger, and you wanted him on the street?”

“Some things were never meant to be caged.”

Sean sensed that Tim was quoting something that he’d heard before and shook it off. He tried again, “So setting him free would have prevented his death. I don’t think so, my friend. It was his time. He would have bought it today if he was in Oz or off enjoying his life out there. The only difference would be that you wouldn’t have to deal with it firsthand.”

Tim stared out the window, stunned by Sean’s words. Everything seemed to still. The lights of the city stopped swimming, separated and began twinkling in their individual patterns. Life went on.


	33. 123 - Scene It (12 - Trees) - Leo Glynn, Tim McManus

“It’s up to us to plant the seeds and watch them grow,” McManus stated.

Damn McManus and his metaphors. 

Leo had a saying of his own. McManus couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Or for the one particular tree he was focusing on at any given time. Put the money into a program to benefit one or two prisoners and you lose things that would benefit the entire prison. It was Leo’s job to tend the forest, but there were days like today that he just wanted to light a match, step back, and watch the whole thing burn.


	34. 123 - Scene It (13 - Footsteps) - Ray Mukada

Mukada always brought his uncomfortable dress shoes to wear on the day of an execution. It was reassuring to him somehow. The tap, tap, tap of his shoes on the floor echoed as he walked. So did Leo’s. And the guards that served as escorts. Their footsteps served as the death march, the underlying cadence to the prayers that fell from his lips. 

It had occurred to him that tennis shoes would have been more comfortable, but after taking that last walk with a prisoner one too many times, he’d noticed that the prisoner wore soft shoes or no shoes. The prisoner’s footsteps were the first piece of their existence to be lost. It might have been foolish or superstitious even, but Mukada wore those shoes that pinched his feet whenever he had to take that walk in order to feel alive.


	35. 123 - Scene It (14 - Whispers) - Sister Peter Marie

She’d tried protesting. It didn’t work and it pissed Leo off. She wasn’t able to sleep through the scheduled time of an execution - it gave her nightmares. The only way she could get through it, and feel like she was contributing was by praying the rosary. Each bead was a prayer, whispered to God. Each decade held a particular intention.

She prayed for courage for the prisoner facing death. 

She prayed for the victims and their families. 

She prayed for the government that they’d soon see a way to abolish capital punishment. 

She’d pray for the prisoner’s family, the ones left behind. 

And lastly, she’d whisper ten Hail Marys for the prisoner’s soul, that he or she would be able to find the peace in the next life that was unattainable here. 

Sister Peter Marie would then lay the rosary aside, hoping that the whispered words would have more impact than any shouts of protest.


	36. 124 - fish - Clayton Hughes

He thought about where would he be assigned. He’d been in prison before. Actually he’d been in this prison before. Somehow he knew this experience would be different. He sat on the bench, bloodied and bruised, knowing that he was no longer the innocent that first walked into Oz. No inmate would consider him just a fish, not after he’d tackled the biggest shark of all. 

As the gate to Unit J clanked shut, Clayton Hughes realized Leo would never toss him to the sharks. He was destined to spend his life confined to this fishbowl – a barracuda among minnows.


	37. 125 - Bite - Claire Howell

_Ring around the rosie_

This bites. Fucking McManus and his ridiculous ideas. Improve conditions in solitary? Couldn’t the bastard find enough to do in Emerald City?

_Pocket full of posies_

McManus didn’t realize how much time it took to outfit these fuckwads for their fieldtrip to the gymnasium. He thought that her job in solitary was a glorified babysitting gig, not actual work.

_Ashes, ashes_

Christ, having these dinks walking around in circles was absolutely ridiculous. They kept on, going round and round like they were kindergartners singing that damned nursery rhyme. 

_They all fall down._

Oh, for fuck’s sake.


	38. 128 - Glass Houses - Tobias Beecher

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Or chairs, Toby thought as he was tossed into the hole. 

He couldn’t believe what he had done. To Schillinger. Out in the world, the Nazi would be well within his rights to press charges. Inside these walls, Toby doubted that he would be alive long enough for a formal complaint to even be drafted.

Retaliation would come swiftly. Toby crouched into a ball thinking of it. But maybe... he didn’t need to take it. Didn’t need to go on the defensive.

After all, wasn’t the best defense a good offense?


	39. 64 - Dress Up - Simon Adebisi, Kareem Said

It had called to him, wanting to be claimed. He reached for it, somewhat expecting some transformation from the moment he put it on. Instead, it was small and tight and unflattering. Surely, there was some other way, some better way for it to be worn. He adjusted it slightly and surveyed his reflection in the mirror. Still nothing. How could such a thing look so good on one man and so out-of-place on another? It was just a hat, right? He looked good in hats.

“Simon?” came the low whisper from his roommate. “Why are you wearing my kufi?”


	40. 131 - Domino Effect - Chris Keller

He takes command of the chair, moving into it as though he’s the CEO of some big corporation, like he’s spent all his life preparing for this moment.

Maybe he has.

He doesn’t watch the people around him as they go about their business, making sure everything is set, everything is perfect.

He doesn’t have much further to go.

He listens to the question as it is asked, says nothing in response.

He stares straight ahead, watching as the clock ticks off the minutes, as everyone around him seems to wait for a phone call that’s never going to come.

They think he’s going to die today.

But the truth is, he’s been dead ever since the moment Toby was killed.


	41. 131 - Domino Effect - Peter Schibetta, Burr Redding, Chucky Pancamo

“You’re the cat that wasted Simon Adebisi.”

“It was self-defense.”

“No matter. He’s dead and you’re not.”

“What can I do for you, Mister Redding?”

“I have a business proposition for you.”

“And what business would that be?”

“Several of my crew were displaced after Mister Adebisi met his untimely demise.”

“Your crew? You’ve been here what? Two days? And all of a sudden it’s *your crew*?”

“I have several men in mind that are willing to work for either of us.”

“Well, right now, your crew can continue to work in the dress factory. My business is doing very well without them.”

“Don’t try tangling with me, boy. Your father may have been able to hang onto control of this business, but you’re not him.”

“Funny. That’s exactly what Adebisi thought... Chucky, will you show Mister Redding to the door?”


	42. 132 - Women of Oz - Eleanor O'Connor, Governor James Devlin

“I’m certain that you’ll be a perfect addition to the team.”

_I’m certain you need the diversity in your staff._

“I usually meet with the wardens monthly, but now you’re here, I’ll be able to dedicate my time to more pressing matters.”

_Like running for re-election._

“I’ll take you around and introduce you, but you’ll see there’s really no difference from one facility to the next.”

_That’s because you’ve cut all their budgets equally._

“Have Alicia bring you the latest statistics on Oswald and…”

_Oswald._

_Tim._

_Take a deep breath, Ellie. You’re a professional. You can handle seeing your ex-husband._


	43. 133 - Kissing - Sean Murphy/Tim McManus

_It’s an impulse_ , Sean thinks through the heady fog of partial drunkenness and the feel of Tim’s lips against his own. _Basketball, beer, and the excitement of having a potential champion did this._

_Then why isn’t Tim moving away? Why is he still kissing me?_

Before his mind can form the demand - _Kiss him back_ – Tim steps back, eyes slightly unfocused, and grins.

“Maybe this year,” Tim says.

“Yeah,” Sean replies. It’s automatic.

“Maybe this year,” Tim says before brushing his lips over Sean’s again.

As he pulls Tim closer, Sean thinks that this year definitely has some possibilities.


	44. 136 - Elemental - Water - Miguel Alvarez

“Man is eighty percent water,” was something that Alvarez had learned a long time ago. For many years, he didn’t believe that fact but his time in solitary got him thinking. What would happen if all the water from his baptisms had settled and accumulated into his body? He’d been baptized as a baby, as a gang member, as an inmate – every time different. 

He watched as the light yellow stream flowed into the jug. Water started out pure, but too many baptisms into this world of violence colored it, and turned it into something that should be flushed away.


	45. 136 - Elemental (Wind) - Vern Schillinger, James Robson

“What’s that?” asked Schillinger.

“Trivial Pursuit Booster Cards,” said Robson. “80’s Movie Edition.”

“Somebody send it to you?”

“Was in Michaelson’s care package. He won’t need it.”

“Poor bastard. Hit me.”

“Okay. What Frank Sinatra song plays at the beginning and end of The Pope of Greenwich Village?”

“Your first question is about a movie about some queer neighborhood? Who the fuck makes these cards?”

“You’re stalling. You don’t have to have seen it. Just name a Sinatra song, for fuck’s sake.”

“’My Way’.”

Robson turns the card over. “’Summer Wind?’ God, I hope all these questions aren’t this obscure.”


	46. 136 - Elemental (Fire) - Ray Mukada

It was twelve hours later and the remnants of the fire were still with him. Our Lady of Fatima was his sanctuary, a place he could go that “felt” sacred. It had statues, stations of the cross, a real baptismal font and honest-to-goodness confessionals. Now, he was left with his office and a multi-purpose room that was made over every Sunday and the high holy days to give the appearance that God had a place in Oz. He lay in the hospital bed, drew a shaky breath, and wondered how long he would feel like he was stuck in hell.


	47. 136 - Elemental (Earth) - Tim McManus, Sister Peter Marie

McManus turned the flowerpot around in his hands, looking at it. There was a bit of potting soil in it, but no visible evidence of anything else. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s a plant. Actually it’s rosemary,” replied Sister Pete.

“Looks like dirt.”

“It’ll grow. With a water and sunlight.”

“Is this a metaphor?”

“I thought it’d be nice for you to have something to care for.”

“That’s a ‘yes’. I have a pretty black thumb, Sister. I’m not the type of guy that’s comfortable digging his hands in the earth.”

“Bullshit.”

“Pardon me?”

“Cultivation, Tim. It’s in your nature.”


	48. 137 - Family (Siblings) - Jefferson Keane

It didn’t matter what his brother had become – what Oz had turned him into. All he could see was that the kid he fought with at the dinner table had been beaten and left for dead.

Didn’t matter that the whispers had started up again. He wasn’t trying to protect his brother’s reputation. It was too late for that. Everybody knew his brother was queer.

It didn’t matter that the hacks would have their eyes on him, waiting for him to make his move.

The only thing that mattered was that Dino Ortolani wouldn’t be drawing breath for much longer.


	49. 137 - Family (Parents and Children) - Diane Wittlesey

She prided herself on her work. She knew about every prisoner under her watch. Not enough to get personally attached. Never that much. 

But double shifts, six days a week, gave her insight into these men. She could rattle off prisoner numbers without having to consult a clipboard. She knew who was in the infirmary and who was in solitary. She saw who they fucked and who they fucked with. 

It all came with a sacrifice. She knew that Schibetta’s son was coming for a visit today, but she had no idea what DeeDee did on her last spelling test.


	50. 137 - Family (Husbands & Wives) - Rosalie and Peter Schibetta

Rosalie adjusted the rear view mirror and touched up her lipstick. It had been months since she’d seen Peter. The last time was a brief visit with him and his psychiatrist – that nun – to see how he was adjusting. She barely recognized him. He’d lost weight and his eyes… something was gone from them. He’d acted as if she was a stranger – polite and distant – and wouldn’t touch her at all.


	51. 137 - Family (Next of Kin) - Tobias Beecher, Sister Peter Marie

“Tobias, there’s something you should know,” Sister Pete began.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Keller. His body is still in the morgue. It needs to be claimed by the next of kin.”

“Or else he’s stuck in an unmarked grave in a potter’s field. Did you call Bonnie?”

“Well, that’s the problem. After you received parole, Keller made a change to his information and listed you as the next of kin. I tried to talk him out of it, but-”

Toby ran a hand over his face. “I can imagine.”

“Let me know what you want to do. But, Toby, make it soon.”

Toby walked out of the office in a daze. Next of kin. _Jesus_. Chris trusted him to be here for him at this moment, no matter how hard it was. Chris knew Toby would make sure he didn’t leave this world without a trace.

No chance of that, Toby thought.

He dialed the number before he could reconsider. 

“Angus, I need a favor.”


	52. 138 - Schooled - James Robson

A long time ago in one of his classes, he’d learned a lesson about purity. He didn’t think much about it at the time. It seemed to make sense – drop a speck of dirt into a glass of water and it was no longer pure. 

It didn’t matter that the glass of water still looked like a glass of water on the outside. It didn’t matter if you could still drink it and it tasted like water. Ninety-nine-point-nine-nine percent of it was still water.

But that fucking one one-hundredth of a percent screwed everything up.

He might look the same, talk the same, think the same, but he couldn’t pass anymore. Not in here. Not with everyone knowing what had been done to him.

James Robson was no longer pure.


	53. 139 - Disguise - Cyril O'Reily, Ryan O'Reily

He never told Ryan about the dreams. Dreams of the past. Bad things he’d done. Bad things that he’d ordered to be done. He talked different in the dreams. All grown-up and confident. He knew that person was still there, locked inside, so far down that nobody could ever get to him. 

Maybe it was better that the bad part was locked away. The things he did back then before the accident, the people he hurt - he’d gotten away with all of it. Not even Ryan could claim that. So this was his punishment, stuck in a different kind of cell with no way out.

But when he woke up from those dreams, for just a second, he was the guy he used to be. And then Ryan would nudge him out of bed for count and give him that look and Cyril went back to being the brother who couldn’t care for himself.


	54. 139 - Disguise - Kareem Said, Simon Adebisi

From the moment that Adebisi tilts the kufi on his head, Said feels like the disguise he’s been wearing for the past few years has fallen away. He’s preached before that the faith itself is not wrapped up in symbols, but without them, he’s unprotected. He is unable to hold back the hate that’s in his heart, the rage that consumes him. He’s caught up in the maelstrom that Adebisi creates, unable to find peace amidst the denizens of this hell called Oz.

He needs those little touchstones that tie him to Allah, because without them he’s just a man.


	55. 146 - Manipulate - Sean Murphy

“They’re hiring over at Oswald for that experimental unit.”

“Experimental unit. I tell you what that means – more work for us.” 

“Hey, you know somebody over there, don’t you, Sean?”

“Yeah. The unit manager and I grew up together.”

“So you’ve got an ‘in’. Unless this guy hates you or something.”

“He doesn’t hate me.”

“So, why don’t you? I’m sure you wouldn’t even have to apply.” 

“I like it here.” 

If he asked, Tim would find a way to bring him to Oz.

But if he did that, in a few months, more than the system would be manipulated.


	56. 168 - The Hacks - Diane Wittlesey/Gloria Nathan (implied)

Diane heard the Warden’s words. _No overtime._ The immediate thoughts were about how she was going to make ends meet without working a double shift. She started budgeting in her head, and then the other thoughts started to filter in. No overtime meant having to go home in the evenings. Extra time with her daughter was fine, but her mother was also part of the equation and she couldn’t take that dose of negativity.

Her eyes met Gloria’s across the table. Gloria winked and gave her a slight smile.

_Well, maybe she wouldn’t have to go home early after all._


	57. 171 - Observer POV - OCs (Donald Groves)

“Honey, come and look at this.”

“Did you find a dark-blue Peanut?”

“No.”

“That’s a tooth. How the hell did you bring up a tooth when you’re supposed to be looking for Beanie Babies?”

“I wasn’t looking for anything in particular.”

“And yet you found teeth.”

“Not teeth. Tooth. One tooth. From the mouth of Donald Groves.”

“Who’s that?”

“Jesus, Elizabeth. How you manage to have any knowledge of anything real is beyond me. Groves is the fellow that killed his parents and… ate them.”

“Ew… How can you be certain that it’s his tooth and not some random body part that someone is passing off as being from Donald Groves?”

“There’s an affidavit from the seller.”

“Probably another criminal. And seriously, Harrison, where would the tooth go? Honestly, can you see bringing our friends into the study and inviting them to look at the one tooth from some serial killer?”

“He’s not a serial killer. They caught him before he could kill anyone else.”

“If he was going to kill anyone else. He could have just been angry with his parents and that was that. One murder. That’s like one tooth. Not interesting until you have a whole set.”


	58. 174 - Past - Chris Keller/Bonnie Keller

_Ow_. She had actually hit him.

Twice.

In the face.

She crouched down, into his line of somewhat limited vision.

“Jesus, you’re bleeding.”

She took a tissue from her pocket and started to dab at his face.

And then it hit him, harder than any punch she’d thrown with her full weight behind it. 

She felt something again. Something for him. Something that could be worked with.

He took the tissue from her and leaned forward to kiss her.

She didn’t move away.

“I missed you,” he said. And he meant it.

He’d always known Bonnie was the best one.


	59. 174 - Past - Tim McManus, Sean Murphy

“You okay?” Sean asked.

Tim shook his head, sniffed loudly and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Today was supposed to be mine, Sean. Mine. And then some stupid assholes messed it all up.” He gave a resigned sigh and then spoke with a cynicism that had developed through his first decade. “Always going to be some asshole messing it up. As long as I stay here.” He snapped his fingers. “I’m getting out of Attica.”

“Now?”

“Later. When I’m older, but not old. In my twenties, maybe.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Sure.”

“By the way, Happy Birthday, Tim.”


	60. 174 - Past - Martin Querns

He scribbled into his notebook, ignoring the lecture. There was nothing in this classroom that he couldn’t have learned from one of those correspondence courses. 

__

Don’t push me.

That was pretty standard. Everybody working in CJ had said it at some point.

__

Don’t mess with me.

That seemed a bit whiny. Might be the first person. Or the word “mess”.

__

Don’t fuck with Querns.

Nice. 

He scrawled it across the page six more times, then turned his attention back to the lecture. 

Emergency preparedness in the event of bioterrorism? Were they serious? When was he ever going to use that?


	61. 174 - Past - Tobias Beecher/Genevieve Beecher

A blurry image moved on a screen, a living, breathing Rorschach test.

“Wow,” said Toby, wonder in his voice.

Genevieve squeezed his hand as her eyes fell on the monitor. Toby leaned down and kissed her hair. He was so proud of her, of both of them, really. They’d made this.

The doctor was busy pointing out features from the image on the screen. Five tiny fingers wiggled in greeting from the shadows of the image. Genevieve laughed. “It’s perfect. Our baby’s perfect,” she declared.

“He’s perfect,” the doctor corrected. 

Toby felt his heart grow full. “Hello, Gary,” he whispered.


	62. 175 - Future - Tim McManus/Sean Murphy

Another Saturday night camped in front of the television at Tim’s, but Sean couldn’t help feeling that this one would be different.

“Another beer? I’m getting one,” Tim asked. Sean had been here more times than he could count. He knew where the beer was kept and usually it was him bringing back an extra for the host.

And why was Tim on the couch and in his space instead of the recliner.

And laughing a little too much at some inane observation Sean was making about the game. He never did that.

“Okay, buddy, what gives?” Sean asked.

Tim sighed and took a swig of his beer. “I’m tired of… stuff. Talking, that whole feelings crap, cuddling-“

“You’re tired of cuddling?”

“Sometimes I just want to-“

“Right.”

“Well, it seems to go hand and hand with dating women and-“

Sean gaped at him. _Was Tim really going to-_

Tim’s cell phone rang. Tim reached for it.

“Tim, wait.”

“I need to get this.” He picked up the phone. “Hello?”

Tim disappeared into the kitchen. Sean turned his attention back to the game and tried not to pick up any of the hushed conversation coming from the other room.

Tim returned moments later and pulled on his coat.

“That was Eleanor. She needs me. C’mon, I’ll walk you out.”

“Now? They’re going into overtime.”

“She _needs_ me, Sean.”

Sean sighed. Another Saturday night in the books. 

One of these weeks, he was going to have to get a real date.


	63. 175 - Future - Ryan O'Reily

Eventually, he was parolled. His days fell into a routine different from prison. Tuesdays were to the nursing home to see Dad. The old bastard was too stubborn to die. Sunday was to Rosehill to visit Cyril, Tessie, and Suzanne. Friday required two separate trips. The first was to Park Lawn to lay flowers on Gloria’s grave. The second was with a bottle of whiskey to St. Peter’s. He sat next to the tombstone marked “Ortolani”, drank and talked. The one-sided conversation always began the same way.

“Ever wonder what would have happened if we’d stopped this at the beginning?”


	64. 175 - Future - Ryan O'Reily, OFC

Ten years later…

He ambles into the space behind the glass set up for him. The name ‘Savannah Jeffries’ doesn’t ring a bell, but Sister Pete was insistent that he meet her. Probably someone related to the accident needing to come to terms with this or that.

He looks at the woman on the other side of the glass. Practically jailbait, he thinks. If he can charm her enough, maybe she would visit him again soon. 

That is, if she wasn’t pissed at him for robbing her of a father during her childhood.

“Hi,” he smiles warmly.

“Mister O’Reily,” she says hesitantly.

“Ryan. You asked to meet me?”

She stares at him for a long moment then nods.

“Why?”

“Do you remember MaryAnn Dunnigan?”

Sure, he remembers MaryAnn. Great gal. Nice rack. Always up for a night of fun. God, he hadn’t seen her in twen-…

_… no fuckin’ way._


	65. 175 - Future - (Firefly crossover) - Ryan O'Reily/Malcolm Reynolds

There were many things that Ryan had experienced during his time in Oz – cancer, explosions, evacuation due to biohazard, but the strangest thing happened during his second stint in the kitchen. He was counting inventory – making sure they had enough chicken nuggets on hand, when the back of the walk-in freezer and the wall behind it was ripped away. 

Not one to let opportunity pass, Ryan squeezed through the hole in the wall and came face to face with what looked to be a weird military plane.

The hatch opened and a striking-looking man disembarked.

Ryan should have been running at that point, getting away from the prison before the SORT team rushed in, but he couldn’t stop staring.

“Hello,” the man said.

“Hi,” Ryan replied.

“We seem to have gotten a mite lost. Could you tell me where we are?”

“Oswald State Correctional Facility.”

“Which planet?”

“Huh?”

The man looked at Ryan as if he’d turned into Cyril.

“Earth.”

“Mal,” a woman’s voice called out. “We got trouble.”

Ryan looked and, sure enough, the SORT team was bearing down on them.

“Can I come with you?” he asked.

“Got money to pay for passage?”

Ryan nodded. He’d managed to pull in a decent score from the breakfast crowd.

“Okay.” He led Ryan up the ramp. "This here's _Serenity_ , the best ship in the 'Verse. I'm Captain Reynolds, I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew once you get settled in."

And that's how Ryan O'Reily escaped from Oz.


	66. 176 - 8 for 8 (95 - Same Name Different Story - Are We There Yet?) - Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller

It was going to happen. He knew it. That’s the reason that he was here in EmCity right now. 

It was just that it had dragged on for what seemed like forever. 

And his heart had started to be dragged into it as well.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He just needed to stick to the script, play a part.

But the only thing he wanted to say was “run”. 

_Run now. Get as far away from me as you can. I’m no good for you. I’m poison._

The words stuck in his throat. He suppressed them, like everything he wanted to say, and maintained a cruel and casual indifference.

He just wanted it over, his debt erased, and then he could work on turning everything around.

When Toby walked through the door of the gym, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

The moment had finally arrived.


	67. 176 - 8 for 8 (84 - Don't Fear the Reaper) - Sean Murphy, Tim McManus

“Why is it that every time we walk down this particular hallway, you need to walk on this side? Are you afraid the bogey man is going to get me?”

“It’s not every time,” Sean answers weakly, but Tim remains unconvinced.

“Why?”

“You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“I can reserve judgment until I hear it.”

“Metzger.”

“You didn’t know Metzger.”

“I knew he was your CO Supervisor.”

“So are you. It doesn’t explain why you’d walk closer to the spot where he was killed.”

“It could have just as easily been the Unit Manager.”

“Oh… No. Like I said, you didn’t know Metzger. He wasn’t well-loved.”

Sean raises an eyebrow in response.

“Come on, you know as well as I do that if someone wanted to off a Unit Manager, they’d do it in full view of the other inmates in order to gain a little jizz.”

“Not making me feel better, Tim.”

“Sorry.” They lapse into silence for a moment before Tim speaks again. “The last thing that Metzger said to me was ‘Remember who you want standing next to you when one of these fucks comes after you with a knife.’”

“He had a point.”

“The funny thing was that as soon as he said it, I didn’t think of him or Diane, I thought of you. I’m glad you’re here, Sean, even if you do let superstition get the better of you sometimes.”


	68. 176 - 8 for 8 (87 - It's the Holiday Season) - Various (crackfic)

“Listen up. The Warden has graciously allotted the next hour for a Christmas party here in the quad.”

“Fuck, McManus, I didn’t get you anything.”

“We’ll begin with a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ and if you’re good maybe Santa will show up.”

“What do you plan to do for the non-Christian inmates?”

“Jesus, Said, can’t you give it a rest for once?”

“I want to see Santa. Why is Mister Said mad?”

“Because he’s getting coal in his stocking this year.”

“’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the-“

“Quiet!”

“This blows.”

“Do something.”

“Ho-ho-fucking-ho.”

“Santa!”

“Hoyt, you are without a doubt the ugliest Santa Claus I’ve ever seen. What’d you do to deserve this?”

“Got into a fight in the cafeteria. Would have rather gotten thrown in the hole.”

“Ooh, Santa, can I sit on your lap?”

“See? It’s all right.”

“Yeah, I guess it was a good-“

“LET GO OF SANTA!”

“Cyril!”

“Aw, shit.” 

“Keller, let Hoyt breathe.”

“Lockdown!”

“Well, this party lasted longer than last year’s. That’s something.”


	69. 176 - 8 for 8 (120 - Behind Closed Doors) - Kareem Said, Simon Adebisi

It happened so quickly that no one would ever believe it.

He didn’t believe it and he was there.

Not standing idly by, but struggling, as he had been for the past three years.

He was fighting for his life. He was also fighting for Simon’s.

He knew there was no amount of convincing, no words that he could say, nothing he could do to make Simon turn from the life he’d established.

Nothing except a subtle shift as Simon’s hand relaxed.

And in that instant, Said knew, the only way to save Simon – _save them both_ – was to strike.


	70. 176 - 8 for 8 (23 - Blackout) - Tobias Beecher, Genevieve Beecher, Gloria Nathan, Chris Keller

Voices whispered near him. He could smell disinfectant. Slowly he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light.

“Gen?”

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Am I dead?”

“No.”

“But you’re… You shouldn’t be here.” He turned his head toward the room’s other occupant. “Doctor Nathan.”

“Who?”

“That’s you. Your name.”

“Doctor O’Reily.”

Toby laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

An orderly came in, wheeling the lunch cart. He smiled at Toby, a grin that was so familiar that Toby found himself reaching for the man before he could stop himself.

“Chris.”

“Whoa. Hold on. How did you know my name?”

“We sang in the choir together. How do you think?”

“I think you need your head examined.”

“It was probably just a dream,” Gen reasoned.

“It wasn’t a dream, it was a place. And you were there, and you. And…”

“Tobe.” 

He opened his eyes. “Chris?”

“Yeah, babe.”

“What am I doing here?”

“The freakiest thing. A tornado blew through when you were in the gym. One of the weights hit you right in the noggin.”

“I’m in Oz?”

“Where else would you be? Somewhere over the rainbow maybe?” he joked.

Toby linked Chris’ fingers with his. “There’s no place like home.”


	71. 176 - 8 for 8 (153 - Visitation) - Nino Schibetta, Maria Ortolani

They’d known each other for years. She was the first girl he’d ever kissed and in the years that followed they’d spent time with one another’s families, attending baptisms, birthday parties, weddings and funerals. 

She hasn’t said much today, but that really isn’t surprising. She isn’t one to waste breath on small talk, preferring to get right to the point. It’s one of the things he’s always liked. 

“Is it done?” she asks.

He nods. She squeezes his hand and walks away. 

Nino feels that chapter of his life close and knows that he will never see Maria Ortolani again.


	72. 176 - 8 for 8 (122 - Strange Days) - Ryan O'Reily/Dino Ortolani (1 of 2)

Down in the hole, it was quiet as all get out. He was used to the constant chatter in EmCity, used to a lot of things. He wondered if Dino was up in the pod, sitting on their bunk, waiting for him. 

God only knew how long they were going to keep him here. Would Dino get bored and go away? Would Dino start haunting somebody else? 

“I’d kill him if he started haunting somebody else,” Ryan muttered.

“You already did that,” the soft voice noted.

The denial was immediate. “Post did that.”

“Right.”

They drifted into silence, then Dino asked, “You okay?”

Ryan laughed. “I’m in the hole, talking to my- to you, who may or may not be a figment of my imagination. This place makes people crazy, Dino.”

“You’re not crazy. I’m really here and I’ll be here as long as you’re here.”

“For better or worse and all that bullshit?”

“Do you really want a vow?”

“Fuck, no.”

“Okay then.”

“Just promise me you won’t haunt anybody else.”

“I won’t even say ‘Boo’ to Nino.”

“Good.”

“God, I’d forgotten how boring it was in here.”

“Yep. Nothing to do but scream or jerk off.”

Dino smiled.


	73. 176 - 8 for 8 (52 - Self-Gratification) - Ryan O'Reily/Dino Ortolani (2 of 2)

“That’s it, that’s it, baby. Long, slow strokes.”

“This is weird.”

“It’s like a guided meditation.”

“Yeah, well, if all meditations were like this, I’d have become a monk. Joined the Holy Order of the Right Palm or something.”

“Slow it down a bit. Yeah, like that. Did I tell you how good you look doing that?”

“You can do more than look.”

“Ryan…”

“What? Don’t tell me that your dick is the only part of you that left.”

“I ain’t Post.” 

“You’re a sick fuck.”

“And yet it still gives you a hard on.”

“So? I want to see you.”

“Fine.”

“Fuck. Me. Why didn’t you ever do this since you’ve been… back?”

“Priorities change, you know?”

“I’d have to be dead to…”

“A-hem.”

“God damn it, Dino, way to kill the mood.”

“You’ll get it back. Besides, I had to catch up.”

“Look at you. Mister ‘Go slow’. Everything’s always a competition with you.”

“Hey, I don’t even know if it works or not.”

“It’s working just fine on me, thanks. God, that’s hot. Reminds me of when we…”

“Yeah.”

“Oh fuck, that’s good. That’s it. I’m…”

“Finished?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

“So what are we gonna do now?”


	74. 177 - Accessories - Tobias Beecher/Genevieve Beecher

_“Try these.” She handed him a pair of frames from the display._

_“I don’t know, Gen. They’re too…”_

_“Smart? Sexy?”_

_“They aren’t really me.”_

They’d been ‘him’ for the past two years. The studious lawyer, peering up from a contract, to look at his client. The husband, whose wife would gently remove them before stripping him of the rest of his clothes.

They were the man on the outside.

In here, they made him look like a nerd, a target, a victim. They were a symbol of weakness, not strength. 

They were his last tie to the outside world.

_Crack._


	75. 178 - Break - Sean Murphy, Tim McManus

He was so sick of working in the system he decided finally to take a break from it. 

He’d gotten as far as circling a few want ads when the phone rang.

“Got a spot open for you over at Oswald. C.O. Supervisor. Pays crap, the hours are shitty and the inmates are inmates.”

“What are the benefits?”

“Somewhat decent medical and they’ll pay for your burial if you get killed on the job. And you’ll be working with me.”

“That’s a benefit?” 

“Very funny. So, can I tell Leo that you’re in?”

Sean crumpled up the newspaper. “I’m in.”


	76. 179 - Objectified - Stanislavky's rubber ducky

As I’m taken from that fabric prison into the light, I can hear the woman saying something about-

_Hey! Get your hand off my ass, bitch. You wouldn’t like it if I squeezed your tit._

I’m propelled through the air, landing in wet hands. I am submitted to a brief examination by my male captor.

He squeezes me, smiling. I suddenly wish something bad would happen to him.

He releases me to my home on the water. 

Something falls in and the impact is unexpected. Waves force me into a mound of bubbles.

Somewhere in the room, something is burning.


	77. 181 - Good-bye - Kareem Said, Tim McManus

Dear McManus,

I know that you don’t fully understand my actions. You were probably expecting some last minute turnaround, expecting me to throw the pardon in Devlin’s smug face.

I’ll admit to considering it, but freedom called to me, like it did my forefathers many years ago, like it’s still calling my brothers today.

However, to be truly free of this system is impossible. I am bound to fight the injustices that so many of my brothers face inside the walls of correctional facilities throughout the state.

I am looking forward to seeing you on the battlefield.

Sincerely,

Kareem Said


	78. 184 - Dish - Oz Staff

“If each of us brought something…” 

“Shut the fuck up, McManus.”

“Bite me, LoPresti.”

“Boys!” 

“While I think Tim’s sentiment is admirable, it does present some budgetary problems.”

“I think my idea would take care of the budgetary problems.”

“There are over five hundred prisoners in Oz. My aunt Gemma’s green bean casserole is not going to feed nearly that many even if I double the recipe.”

“What if we just took care of our unit?”

“I’ll take care of your unit.”

“After work.”

“What was that?”

“Hmm?”

“Hee!”

“Claire.”

“Now I’ve got some dish for the boys in solitary.”


	79. 185 - Fruitcake - Sean Murphy, Ryan O'Reily, Simon Adebisi

He should have put an end to it the moment he saw the tin move from Schillinger’s hand to O’Reily’s. Something was coming and it wasn’t going to be pretty. Ryan was practically skipping up the stairs to Adebisi’s pod with it. 

A few moments later, Ryan came out without the tin. He didn’t have long to wait for the scenario to play out. Adebisi ran out of his cell, brandishing what looked like a large rock, and headed straight for Ryan. 

Murphy could see O’Reily backing away as Adebisi lifted the object over his head and slammed it down on Ryan’s. At the moment of contact, the rock-like object seemed to explode showering both O’Reily and Adebisi. 

O’Reily lay down on the floor as Murphy arrived on the scene, leaving a trail of smushed fruitcake in his wake. “I need to go to the infirmary,” said Ryan.

_Ah, there it was._

“No,” he looked at Simon. “Adebisi, wanna clean this up or go to the hole?”

Adebisi headed for the gate.

“Looks like you’re on clean up duty, O’Reily.” Murphy said as he plucked the remnants of a green-dyed cherry from Ryan’s shirt and tasted it. 

_Not too bad._


	80. 186 - Sports - Sean Murphy/Tim McManus

_Define grace._

Catechism class required a very distinct set of answers to their questions. Things like knowing the names of the seven sacraments, the holy days of obligation, the fact that you were created to know, love, and serve God. These answers were memorized and could be spoken in your sleep if need be and sometimes were, depending on what you and Tim had gotten into the previous night. 

Your eyes returned to the question on the pop-quiz.

_Define grace._

You knew the definition by heart, but your mind also supplied another.

Grace is seeing Tim on the basketball court.


	81. 187 - Cards - Ryan O'Reily, Gloria Nathan

“What’s that?” Ryan asked.

“A thank-you card.”

“Looks like a Valentine, all those hearts.”

“It’s a thank-you card. The first one I’ve gotten since working here.”

Ryan felt a twinge of guilt at Gloria’s statement, which he immediately tossed off because he loved her – he’d said the words. That had to count for more than some stupid thank-you note. 

“You like Snoopy, huh?”

“What?”

“The dog. I used to be able to draw like that. Even taught…” his voice faded as he stared at the card.

“Ryan?”

As soon as he got back to EmCity, he was confiscating Cyril’s crayons.


	82. 190 - Prison Haiku - Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller

Washers and dryers  
Sit idle as he tumbles  
Into Keller’s arms

Hand bones are fragile  
Breaking along with arms and legs  
Not to mention heart.

Supply room closet  
Watching him work and waiting  
No one will suspect

The stroke of midnight  
Lips meet, two come together  
All is forgiven

Nights bring memories  
Of the one so far away  
Who could give this up

Hearing Sister’s words  
Heartbeat thrums in triple time  
Keller’s coming back

Reaction to Chris  
These days seems to be a push  
Sends him over the edge


	83. 194 - Darkness - Miguel Alvarez

He has a hard time sleeping. He stares up at the ceiling in the semi-darkness of his cell, feeling his muscles relax, his eyelids fluttering closed. His breathing slows. For a moment it’s good, he’s ready. 

Then the darkness envelops him. At the moment where things go completely black, he jerks awake. His eyes fly open, his heart rate quickens. That instant is worse than death - it’s death with a possibility of no afterlife - the flames of hell would be more welcoming than this endless nothing.

The darkness will be his sentence. After all, that’s the world he left Rivera.


	84. 197 - Dump - Claire Howell/Tim McManus

She comes into work whistling. It was a good night, a decent date. It could be the start she’s looking for to turn her life around. It’s true - the guy isn’t her normal type, but he is someone that she could bring around her family and not worry about either of them getting killed. 

The fantasy about the two of them lasts right up to the moment she opens the door to the break room and he acts as though she doesn’t exist. That’s when it hits Claire like a bucket of cold water - Tim is going to dump her.


	85. 200 - Reflection - Tim McManus/Sean Murphy

“Sometimes I think I can’t help myself. First Gloria, then that one intern of Leo’s, you didn’t know her, then Diane, don’t make that face, Sean, I’m over the England thing, I think. Then the gal that worked in the library for about a week, Cheryl – that was her name. And a couple more interns but they didn’t pan out. With Howell… I think that was it. That’s when I knew. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth the risk dating women that I see every day at work. But it’s just so…”

“Tim.”

“What?”

“Shut up and fuck me.”


	86. 200 - Reflection - Ryan O'Reily, Shannon O'Reily

_I went to the doctor today._

He remembered that Shannon’s voice sounded much smaller than usual that evening. He could still see her there, at their scarred kitchen table, twisting a dishtowel in her hands.

_I can’t have kids._

The feelings overwhelmed him – shock, sadness, anger, and also relief.

_If you want to leave, be with someone else, someone who-._

She was so broken, so beautiful. In that moment, he could do nothing but reassure her that he’d always be there.

Now with Cyril gone and his father dying, Ryan wondered if he should have taken her up on it.


	87. 205 - Storm - Oz Staff

“Seriously? A tornado drill?“ Murphy began.

“Last one was in 1938,” said McManus.

“It’s high time the state required disaster preparedness,” Sister Pete contributed.

“Hey, we had that fire drill back in October.” Ray said.

“I’d like our next safety drill to be better than that one,” Leo said.

“Doesn’t make any sense. They’re already away from any windows. They can’t really go anywhere.“ Mineo chimed in.

“Why don’t we have an anti-shanking exercise? That’d be fucking useful.” LoPresti added.

Leo sighed and wished he could curl up into a ball on the floor with his head in his hands.


	88. 159 - Reading is Fundamental - Bob Rebadow, Agamemnon Busmalis, Stella

“What are you looking for?”

“Oh, I’m not. Bob just said there was a pretty woman in the library and I came to check you out.”

“You’re supposed to check out books, not the librarian.”

“So what are your intentions?”

“Pardon me?”

“Bob’s my best friend. I need to know what your intentions toward him are. I won’t have you breaking his heart.”

“I think you have the wrong idea.”

“Look. You have to know that he likes you.”

“He’s a very sweet man and does a good job here.”

Rebadow came into the library pushing the cart. “You wouldn’t believe what-“ He spied Busmalis. “What are you doing here?“

Busmalis looked away guiltily.

“I was just helping your friend find a book.” Stella pressed one into Busmalis’ hand. “From what I’ve heard, this seems like your style.”

“’The Count of Monte Cristo’?”

Rebadow chuckled. “You’ll like it. Trust me.”


	89. 147 - Random Word (Figuring) - Chris Keller

There’s a lot of figuring that goes on in a con’s first hours in a new joint. 

Who’s the guy on top? Where can I get the best drugs, or blow jobs? What hacks are known to look the other way? Who do I need to take down in order to make that next step up the ladder? 

A lot of figuring.

Unless, of course, it all has been laid out for him in advance. That was certainly true in this case.

Now, the only figuring Chris Keller needed to do was how and when to make the first move.


	90. 143 - That's Entertainment - WARNING: triggery material-rape/non-con - James Robson, Vern Schillinger, Peter Schibetta

He’d never realized how much he’d miss the pool table until it needed repairs. That, coupled with Vern being away, led to dreary days. He spent ten days playing poker and losing, and was glad when Vern returned and the repair work completed. 

He viewed it, in all its pristine glory, begging for its holes to be filled. Vern was making small talk when that mouthy Italian - Adebisi’s bitch - strolled in, issuing orders. 

Robson thought that the christening of this table should have been a friendly game with Vern in Unit B, but this was so much better.


	91. 124 - Fish - Nat(alie) Ginsberg, Moses Dyell, Mark Miles

“Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. I gotta love one man till I die. Can’t-”

“Keep it up, faggot. It won’t be long.” 

“Miles, why’ve you always gotta interrupt Nat’s singing?” Moses asked.

“I’m trying to paint and his caterwauling is distracting me.”

“Well, there is a whole repertoire I could do from ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ but I’m not that into Sondheim.”

“Who?”

“I’m living among the uncultured.”

“Fuck you. I’ve basically got my own art gallery. That’s culture.”

“I suppose. Go paint.” Nat grinned, “But tonight after lights out, I’ll be performing selections from ‘South Pacific’.”


	92. 157 - Faith - Ray Mukada, Kareem Said

It wasn’t every day that Ray Mukada was surprised, but seeing Kareem Said at his office door was something that he never expected.

“Can I help you?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“I heard some of the men say that you had Christmas cards available.”

“And I suppose you’d like us to start carrying cards for the Muslim holiday. I wish we could, but these were the ones that were donated for prisoner use. There are some generic cards that might suit your purposes.”

“I no longer follow the Christian religion, but my father and sister do. The cards are for them.”

“I see,” Ray said, watching as Said browsed through the cards, judging images and sentiments as if he were in a card store instead of an office surrounded by icons of the faith he left behind.

Said withdrew two cards, whispered “thank you” and walked out. Ray found himself staring at the door long after Said left.


	93. 142 - Solitary - Miguel Alvarez

You move around in the dark, once again the sound of your own voice your only company as it has been the last few weeks. Adjusting isn’t easy. Your rhythms are off. You long to hear the sound of another human voice, if only for a moment.

It is cold, always cold. You can’t escape it. It seems to seep into your bones.

And just when you’re at the point when you can’t take another moment of this torture, the first wisps of orange and gold appear on the horizon, and you realize that even though you’re alone, you’re free.


	94. 96 - The Only Thing To Fear - Tim McManus

Most nights, I fall asleep on the couch with the television set on. It’s the only way I know how to live. I’ve tried to sleep in my bed by myself, but I wind up staring at the ceiling for hours, and then dragging myself into the living room to watch television. I can’t take the quiet, the emptiness. It started when Ellie left. The things she said, the things she didn’t say, all made me wonder if I’m ever going to be able to get it right, or if I’ll be drowning in loneliness the rest of my life.


	95. 95 - Same Name, Different Story (Prelude to a Kiss) - Kareem Said/Tim McManus

McManus sighed, noting the next appointment in his calendar was with Kareem Said. It would end up with them arguing and him ordering Said out of the office. It always did. How the bastard knew what buttons to push to get him going was a mystery, but it happened every time. Something had to change.  
..........................

Ah, there it was. That beautiful flush creeping over McManus’ face. That was the moment that Said loved seeing most of all. He couldn’t help himself. It was like an addiction, this need to get McManus all riled up. He watched the man loom over him, passionate words rolling off his tongue, the words themselves were no longer important. The tone, the passion behind them, that’s what he wanted.

Said waited. This was about the point where McManus would yell “Get the hell out of my office.” But no such order came. Said glanced behind him. The blinds were drawn. All the blinds. And the door was shut. 

McManus smiled, seeing the change in Said. Those dark eyes flashed up at him in surprise. He’d waited so long to rattle Said and this reaction was worth every moment. The verbal foreplay had finally reached its climax. 

To this day, McManus was never sure who moved first.


	96. 105 - Scars - Leo Glynn

Leo waited.

The image of his daughter’s face, once beautiful and innocent, came to mind. They said she would heal. Until then, he had to face those marks, the scars, the bruises, and the pain in his daughter’s eyes.

For a moment, he could understand Schillinger, who had come here as a result of defending his sons. Leo understood that rage, that need to strike out at those who would harm his own.

His baby girl. Transformed. When he looked at her, he saw them. He wanted to hurt every last one.

The intercom buzzed.

“Miguel Alvarez.”

“Send him in.”


	97. 106 - If the Cliche Fits - Augustus Hill/Sister Peter Marie

The rehab session had ended and the room was nearly empty when Sister Pete asked, “Augustus, are you okay?”

 _Well, let’s see_ , thought Hill. _I’m still getting tormented daily by the homeboys who think it’s fun to try to tip over my chair. Most of my poker group has been transferred out of Em City. My podmate’s a dope fiend and I’m struggling to stay clean. And on top of it all, I’m a witness to murder. Possibly even an accomplice. Excuse me, if I seem distracted._

“Augustus?” 

Hill took a deep breath and managed a smile, “I’m fine, Sister.”


	98. 103 - Something Blue Revisited - Tim McManus, Sean Murphy

McManus called Murphy into the computer room. He gestured around. “What’s different?”

“They were messing with the lights earlier. It’s ergonomic or something. Supposed to reduce eye-strain.”

“Maybe I should get some for...” McManus stopped, realizing what had been bothering him. “Sean, it’s blue.”

“I can see that.”

“In Emerald City? BLUE?” 

“You went to that seminar on color therapy. Blue is supposed to be calming.”

“Do I seem calm to you?” McManus roared.

“Not exactly, no.” Sean stifled a grin, and decided that now wasn’t the right time to let Tim know that the improvements were originally Querns’ idea.


	99. 107 - OMG! WTF? - Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller, Ryan O'Reily, Sean Murphy (somewhat meta)

The two of them are in the shower, talking. “I don’t understand why she doesn’t write for us. She’s written for me, sure. She says she’s writing for you.”

“I’m still waiting!”

“But she never writes for us. B/K as a couple.”

“We’re major characters, for fuck’s sake. The last chapter of the show was all about us. Everybody else has gotten with the program. Why not this broad?”

“Maybe she’s shy.”

“Shy? Have you read the stuff she’s written for Howell? And that was edited. All this does is take time away from the story she’s writing about me.”

“What’s with this hack fixation – Howell, McManus, even the warden. And she worships Murphy.”

With that, Ryan O’Reily walks into the shower room, dropping his towel and getting under the spray. “I hear she’s writing for White next.”

(Author’s note: Bullshit)

“What the fuck are you doing here, O’Reily?”

“Showering.”

Murphy sticks his head in the shower room. “Am I in this scene?”

All three reply, “NO!” Murphy leaves.

“She ever write anything for you?”

“Nah, but I’m not worried. That chick worships me. It’s getting hard on the knees though, she had me getting out of bed and walking to the front of my cell about 40 times last week.”

Water trickles down O’Reily’s body, a rivulet runs down his hard chest, firm stomach to his pens.

“What the fuck? What does she want me to do, write some B/K? Give me something I need, bar of soap, razor maybe, even a shank.”

“I’ve got a shank, baby. Want to hold it?”

“Play nice. Stuff like this is what makes it hard –“  
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“I’m outta here,” says O’Reily, not bothering to take his towel with him as he takes the long walk to his pod.

“A-hem.”

Beecher reaches toward Keller “Alone at...”

THE END


	100. 114 - Common Sense - Agamemnon Busmalis

It was the sound of progress. The sound of time passing. The sound of distance – inches, then feet, then yards. It was the sound of creation, the sound of the work taking shape under his loving hands. His tools were always different and each of his girls had their own personality, but this, this sound was always the same. Every night, he’d pause after the first strike and just listen. The sound of the earth shifting, of dirt and rock rolling down the side of the tunnel, easing the way to freedom, that was the sweetest sound in the world.


	101. 90 - This is Your Life - Peter Schibetta

_Who made you?_  
God made me.

 _Why did God make you?_  
God made me to know, love, and serve Him.

What complete bullshit. At the age of seven, learning catechism in Sunday school, that was all I knew. Now, I think the answer to those questions are very different. A lot of people have made me, put their stamp upon my life. Family and business associates, friends and enemies, cops, judges, and cons have all had an impact in making me the person I am today. 

But, in all my life, no one had a bigger impact than my father.


	102. 132 - Women of Oz - Shirley Bellinger

She found the whole situation highly ironic.

Out there, she was dominated. Sex was a way that the men in her life controlled her. They took what they wanted, when they wanted, how they wanted. 

In here, she learned that being a woman in a world of men could present all kinds of advantages. She could ask them to do anything.

It was their response that she craved – knowing that they were willing to fulfill her needs. Even sweet, queer Richie had pulled out his cock when she asked. 

For a woman like Shirley Bellinger, prison could be so... liberating.


	103. 173 - Cartoons - Hank Schillinger, Vern Schillinger, Gary Beecher

“I wanna watch SpongeBob!”

“No.”

“Gramma lets us watch it.”

He remembered the last time he watched a cartoon.

_“Hey, hey, hey. It’s Fat Albert.”_

_“Turn that off,” his father said from the doorway._

_“No,” he said, turning back to the television._

_He didn’t hear what his father said in response to that._

_He did hear his mother’s screams and the crunch of a Louisville Slugger going through the television screen._

_He’d never watched another cartoon since._

He glanced over at the boy who was reaching for the remote, and knew exactly what was going in that package to Beecher.


	104. 180 - Dog Days - Claire Howell

The dog days of summer were truly upon her. It could have been her imagination, but it had been hot as hell in here the past few days – almost to the point of causing her to feel a little lightheaded on occasion. She chalked that up to dehydration and the nausea that seemed to hit her every fucking day now she credited to the heat. She couldn’t understand why no one else was affected.

As soon as she saw the bright blue plus sign, she knew. The dog days of summer were truly upon her and she was their bitch.


	105. 115 - 90-second drill (Location: church) - Miguel Alvarez, Ray Mukada

“This is the church and this is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.” Great, thought Miguel. He was really losing his mind in here, playing games from his childhood. That was time when he could have been anything. His abuela had wanted him to become a priest; maybe she thought it would keep him out of trouble. Life sure would have been a lot easier if he’d spent it in a building surrounded by flowers, statues, and images of Jesus on the cross. 

But Maritza had come. One look at her and Miguel was ready to welcome trouble into his life. He sighed.

The door opened and Mukada walked in, still dressed in the vestments from service. Miguel held out a hand as the priest looked for a place to set his things, a Bible and the little container that held the communion wafers. There was no need for a chalice down in this unit. 

Mukada handed him the Bible and Miguel thumbed through it, looking for a particular passage. He skimmed the words, smiling to himself and then closed the book as Mukada sat across from him. “What were you-?”

“The bit about the prisoner being invited to Heaven with Jesus. Always liked that part,” Miguel responded.

Mukada smiled at him.

“You smile more than any priest I ever met.”

“Is that a flaw?”

“No. Just different.” And when Miguel thought about it, Mukada was different in just about every way from the priests of his childhood. He never talked about repentance; maybe he figured they’d got enough of that from the hacks and the Warden. The priests in Miguel’s neighborhood were all fire and brimstone, not anybody he’d want to be when he grew up.

He couldn’t help wondering, would his life have turned out differently if he’d had a guy like Mukada around back then?


	106. 174 - Past - Scott Ross/Diane Wittlesey

He saw her out of the corner of his eye, setting up camp.

Rick’s wife.

The hot blonde with the tits.

And the mouth. She looked like the type of woman who knew how to give a blow job.

He’d followed the rules of the gang and expressed his interest to Rick. Out here, it was tribal. They could share anything and everything if they wanted. 

Rick was okay with it. The woman wasn’t a doe-eyed innocent – she knew what she was getting into.

He lit a cigarette and offered it to her.

“What do you want, Ross?” Diane asked.


	107. 168 - The Hacks - Claire Howell, Sean Murphy

“You afraid, Murph?” Howell asked.

The vulnerability in her voice caught him off-guard. Leo’s words had obviously hit home with her. There was always that point, where the job turned from glorified babysitting gig to a very real and scary situation that you might be responsible for, and you needed to figure out if you could handle it. Howell was at that point now, looking to him for some kind of reassurance.

The “yeah, sure” came automatically. He’d been living with the fear that went hand and hand with prison life since the very beginning of fifth grade. Yeah, he was scared and probably crazy and a little bit stupid for working the scene all these years.

But he never wanted to do anything else.


	108. 122 - Strange Days - Ryan O'Reily/Dino Ortolani

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually a prequel to the pair of 8-for-8 O'Reily/Ortolani stories.

“You’re in my bunk,” came the voice from the other side of the pod.

Ryan O’Reily blinked. Those must have been some really good tits he shared with Beecher, because right now, Ryan was seeing Dino Ortolani, standing less than five feet away from him. 

“My bunk now, lasagna boy. Shouldn’t you be burning in the fires of hell by now?”

“Funny you should mention fire.”

“Hey, I had nothing to do with that.”

Dino shook his head. “Same old Ryan. Deny, deny, deny.”

“You’re lecturing me about denial? What about your own rumor control?”

“What’s a few bullets between friends?”

“Friends?” His voice went up an octave and he was glad no one else was around to witness this. “Jesus Christ, can’t you even fucking admit it now?”

Dino sat down on the edge of the bed, looked at Ryan. “This is really fucked up.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“I’d touch you if I could.”

“Nobody can see.”

“I know. But…” Dino laid a hand against Ryan’s chest. It seemed to vanish with the contact.

“This is hell.”

“Yeah, it is.”


	109. 157 - Faith - Dino Ortolani

It’s six in the morning and I’m awake. Not much different than any other day here in the joint. I get up and look out into the half-light to see Kareem Said in his pod, already in prayer.

I was taught that faith in God was something that had to be set aside in order to get any respect. My only loyalty needed to be to the organization.

Yet Said has respect, even from me, though I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, and it’s just because his faith in God makes him strong. I wonder...

Fuck it. I ain’t Muslim.


	110. 163 - Let's Dance - Sister Peter Marie, Martin Querns (crackfic)

“Like my coffee mug? Guys at the last job had it made special for me. Great bunch of guys,” he says wistfully, taking a sip of coffee. “Not like the touchy-feely bunch of do-gooders in this place. See what it says?”

Sister Pete nodded.

“Now about this proposal. You and Ms. Fitzgerald have been very thorough.”

Sister Pete’s eyes light up for a moment. “You’ll see that…”

“I don’t have to see. I know that any man tiptoeing around pretending he’s a fucking daffodil deserves a solid ass-kicking.”

“Well, then, perhaps interpretive dance isn’t the best name for it. Call it movement therapy.”

“You can call it whatever you want. A dead program is still a dead program.” He smiles at her. “You really didn’t think it would pass, did you? C’mon, Sister, even you should know by now.” He traces his fingers on the mug, underlining the words printed on it for emphasis. “Don’t. Fuck. With. Querns.”


	111. #207 - Fairy Tale - Antonio Nappa/Nat Ginsberg

After the lights go out, Antonio talks to Ginsberg. “When my boys were very young maybe three and four, my wife used to read them stories. One of their favorites was the three pigs. I think they just liked the way my wife told the story. I liked it too. I thought it had an important lesson that there was a way of protecting yourself, of building your empire that nobody could take away. No matter how strong they seemed, they wouldn’t be able to blow down what I’d created.

“Now I see that I was so busy looking out for the big bad wolf, that I missed the little prick that would take me down.”

“That sounds closer to Sleeping Beauty than the Three Pigs, Princess.”

“Did I ever tell you about the time I snapped my cellmate’s neck?”

“Every night.”

“Good night, Ginsberg.”


	112. #207 - Fairy Tale - Ryan O'Reily, Dino Ortolani

“And they lived happily ever after,” Ryan said, glancing down at Cyril’s sleeping figure. No matter where he was in the story when Cyril nodded off, Ryan always felt the need to finish it.

He climbed onto the top bunk, ready to settle in for the night when he heard a voice in the darkness.

“What a load of crap.”

Ryan felt a chill down his spine. He knew that voice.

“Never took you for the fairy tale type. I’m more of a Poe man myself. You know…” Ortolani spoke almost in a whisper, “…Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.”

“Poe wrote ‘Jaws’?”

“No, you ignorant shithead. The Tell-tale Heart. You know about the guy who gets so consumed with the guilt that comes from killing someone that he starts imagining things.”

“Weird, never heard of it. So if he didn’t write ‘Jaws’ who did? Spielberg, maybe?”

“Peter Benchley wrote ‘Jaws’. Arrgh! Why did I get stuck with you to haunt!” Dino yelled and disappeared.

Ryan closed his eyes, mumbling to himself, “And they lived happily ever after.”


	113. #208 - Hearts & Flowers (Peter & Rosalie Schibetta)

ARTS & CRAFTS

“I made you something,” Peter said. He gave her a shy smile and then set a piece of paper in the middle of the table. It had been folded in the shape of a rose.

Rosalie stared at it.

“They brought somebody in to show us this paper-folding thing- oreganami or whatever. Some guys made boats, some guys made birds, one asshole wadded his paper into a ball and swallowed it. I wish they would have let me have something to make a stem. They get kinda funny about things like that around here.”

“Right.”

“Do you like it? The flower?”

Rosalie thought of the expression on her mother’s face the year that Rosalie had given her a macaroni necklace for Mother’s Day. She imagined she had the same look on her face now. “I love it,” she said.

“If I had more time, I would’ve made you a dozen.”


	114. #208 - Hearts & Flowers (Tim/Ellie & Tim & Sean)

“Did you get the flowers I sent?” Tim asked.

“They’re beautiful. I made reservations for us at Pisaro’s at seven.”

“Ellie, I…”

“It’s Valentine’s Day. They don’t need you at the office on Valentine’s Day.”

“I’ve got that meeting with the Board tomorrow, remember?”

“The thing about the experimental unit?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t see how you can be any more prepared than you are now. Come to dinner. If it makes you feel better, you can pitch me the project.”

“I really need to be here.” He’d tried to explain it before, being in the prison helped him to see the flaws in the system- the things that his experimental unit would correct.

Ellie sighed loudly through the phone. “All right, Tim. Good night.” She hung up before he could say anything more.

When he arrived home at eleven, he found a take-home container of fettucine in the refrigerator, the dozen roses in a vase on the dining room table, and a goodbye note. 

He was glad that the flowers were still intact, they’d cost him a fortune. He’d always thought Ellie was “the one” but if she didn’t understand how important the job was to him, maybe she wasn’t.

_Six years later_

“What do you think?”

“Seems like you’re trying to turn Unit B into another EmCity.”

“Just because they’re here doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get the same advantages that the prisoners in Emerald City get.”

“No, Timmy, that’s exactly what it means.”

“Since Querns took over, the prisoners there are just killing time.”

“You think Schillinger and Kirk want to do anything besides shoot pool in their downtime? Well, Kirk…”

“What about him?”

“Never mind.”

“So help me with this. What would Leo go for?”

“Right now, a nice dinner with the wife.”

“Be serious.”

“I am serious. That’s what people do on Valentine’s Day.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes. The day of hearts and flowers, candy and romance.”

“You're sounding like Ellie. It’s just a day.”

“And I get to spend it with you. Lucky me,” Sean said, rolling his eyes.

“Better than hearts and flowers, isn’t it?”


	115. #27 - Under the Boardwalk - Keller, Howell, Wittlesey

It wasn’t often during a lockdown that Keller felt a blip on his sexual radar, but he was feeling it now. Wittlesey was all straight-laced and buttoned down as she patrolled, but he’d heard rumors about her and at least one inmate. 

Of course, that asshole wound up dead, so maybe it was just bullshit.

Still if he could just see her loosen one of those buttons, all bets were off. Maybe he and Wittlesey should spend some time together, see what developed.

Circling around the other direction was Howell, that busty hack with the mouth made for blowjobs. The one that McManus fucked, although he didn’t know why she’d bother. It probably was sexual harassment. 

He’d watch them, walking their opposite ends of the room, occasionally glancing at one another. He watched as Wittlesey disappeared under the stairs. Moments later, Howell followed in her wake. 

He stood at his window, fixated on the stairwell. He thought that he’d have to lure Toby there one of these days. 

If Toby would speak to him again.

Howell emerged from underneath the stairwell first. She caught his eye and grinned.

Wittlesey followed.

He watched her fasten the button on her collar.

_Blip._


End file.
